I don't usually listen to much talk radio, but I accidentally found myself sucked into a few minutes of Michael Savage's show yesterday around 11:40 pm. I know better than to listen to such nonsense, as all it does is piss me off. Still, I listened.
Savage made the patently stupid comment that Bush needed to continue to crack down on civil liberties, because we were only 50 percent of the way towards getting rid of the "excessive civil liberties" enjoyed in the U.S. in order to fight terrorism. Further, he called for all leaders of the ACLU to be jailed and all assets of the ACLU to be seized under RICO.
Okay, I'm the first to admit that the ACLU is just as often wrong as it is right. I'm proud to have joined hands with them in opposition to the assault on civil liberties by the current Administration and the pussified Congress that went along with the oppressive PATRIOT ACT without so much as reading it. On the other hand, I have no problem admitting that they are completely off base on many issues, including affirmative action and school choice.
Savage, like many conservative talk show hosts, reveals a pathological hypocrisy endemic to their clique when calling for civil liberties crackdowns. I guess it never crossed his mind that the ability to host a controversial talk show might be one of those "excessive civil liberties" he despises. What conservatives really want when they espouse civil liberties crackdowns is to silence anyone who doesn't agree with them. It ain't about fighting terrorism. It's about control of information and opinion.
Unlike Savage, I'm not trying to silence anyone with my little tirade here, but I'm sure a bunch of conservative apologists, who confuse criticism with censorship will say otherwise.
Savage may be completely full of shit, but he should be thankful he lives in a nation with "excessive civil liberties." Otherwise, he'd never have had the opportunity to piss off a libertarian in Alexandria, Virginia at 11:40 pm on a Friday night.